During the battle, I hadn’t seen a single living student. Of those I knew were at the academy, I’d only witnessed three professors fighting. I didn’t believe the demons would have killed them all, or at least, I hope they wouldn’t. They would’ve been smart to keep some students alive to lure us in.
“They’re locked in the Battle Magic classroom,” a voice from behind spoke up, startling me.
I turned around to find Professor Tittelbaum, my warping mentor. He’d always been a thin man, academic and nerdy, but he looked even thinner now. Almost sickly.
“I hear that you leveled up in your warping, Dane. And perhaps a few other things, too?” He looked at me pointedly.
I nodded. “Timewalking, and . . . yeah, a few other things.”
“A tale for another day,” he said. “For now, I’ll show you where the students are.” He turned and descended the stairs.
I trailed behind, and my parents followed.
“Professor De Spina and I should have been down there with them,” he continued. “They kept the students and teachers locked up in the Battle Magic room most of the time, but a group of demons needed our assistance with something. Ms. Seeley, too. So when you arrived, we were free to fight.”
“I saw you,” I said. “Thank you for your help.”
“I don’t deserve your thanks,” Professor Tittelbaum said sadly.
I suspected he was experiencing a great sense of remorse for working with the demons. Even if he was possessed part of the time, or they would’ve killed him had he not done what they wanted, it would be hard to swallow.
He would have to come to terms with his guilt on his own, though, so I refrained from commenting.
When we got to the door of the classroom, the professor turned and looked at me.
“It’s sealed. But Headmistress Wake tells me you might be able to open it.”
The tone of his voice left me with little doubt about what he meant.
I allowed my demon magic to pour from my hands, over the knob, and bade it to open. It did so easily, and when the door swung wide, my hands flew to my mouth in horror.
Far fewer students and professors stood before me than I had hoped. Those who remained were almost too thin and filthy to recognize.
“I’ll make sure the infirmary is prepared,” Mom said, and dashed back up the stairs.
As soon as she was gone a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time piped up. “Once a few of us get some water, we can help with whatever is going on upstairs.”
I turned to find Phoebe, Diana’s best friend, shifting through the crowd. She looked slightly better off than most, but still covered in a layer of dirt.
“You don’t have to help at all. You guys have clearly been through a lot.”
Phoebe’s chin jutted out. “I’ll do what I can.”
Recognizing that this was personal for her, I nodded. Professor Tittelbaum said he’d wait for my mom to return, and I helped those few who could walk upstairs to get them food and water. After that the hours passed in a blur, and night turned into day before I stopped moving.
We had designated a spot for the bodies, and for the living, we created a temporary sleeping area in Agnes Sampson Hall. While many of the dorm towers were still habitable, no one wanted to sleep in them, as the demons had been living there for weeks. I couldn’t argue with that.
When I finally fell asleep early the next day, it was in Agnes Sampson Hall, surrounded by loved ones, and wrapped in a sense of surety that finally, we were safe.
CHAPTERFORTY-EIGHT
For the next two days, we worked tirelessly, cleaning up rubble, caring for the injured, searching the woods for bodies, and most importantly, contacting the families of the dead. It was a sensitive task that we gave to only the most empathetic.
Most of those we contacted planned to pick up their fallen kin as soon as possible, although some proved more difficult.
“Does Joseph’s mom still believe you’re a demon calling to lure her here?” I asked Amethyst, who had been one of the few charged with the tough task of calling the deceased’s kin.
She was also the most dedicated, perhaps because she could speak to the ghosts, and understood how much they wished to be with their families.
